Both starvation and refeeding and exercise and detraining are procedures that result in lowered lipid stores followed by their refilling. Rats subjected to these procedures were evaluated for their ability to produce hepatic biosynthetic reducing equivalents. Five-week-old male Osborne-Mendel rats were exercised on a motorized treadmill for 6 wk (final speed 27 m/min, 60 min/day, 6 day/wk) or kept sedentary. Exercised and sedentary rats were starved for 48 h or fed ad libitum. After treatments, some rats in each group were killed. Remaining exercised animals were detrained or detrained and refed. Remaining sedentary rats were refed. Activities of hepatic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme were evaluated. Plasma glucose, triglyceride, insulin, liver triglyceride, and body composition were determined. Results indicate that changes in lipids stores associated with starvation and refeeding and exercise and detraining are not associated with similar changes in enzyme activity. Starvation resulted in lowered plasma glucose, triglyceride, and insulin. Starvation and all exercise treatments resulted in lowered carcass fat. Exercised rats who were starved for 48 h and then detrained and refed for 72 h had the greatest liver weights and percent liver triglycerides. This was not associated with similar changes in enzyme activity. Increased liver lipid and decreased carcass fat may indicate a redistribution of lipid stores in these animals.